Leda Montgomery
Background Dougal Adair met Iona McGregor when she was lost near his family's farm. A surprise pregnancy, a shotgun wedding and nine months later, Leda Adair was born on April 3rd. Luckily for her parents they found out their feelings were not only physical, and Leda has always enjoyed the quiet peace her parents live in. Unluckily, Dougal was unaware that Iona was a Witch until they had been married for two months and was horrified by the entire idea. Iona loved Dougal so much that she gave up magic for him though, meaning that Leda grew up, for all intense purposes, in a Muggle household. The news that she was a Witch was the cincher in a lifelong fascination with Magic, Fairytales and Mythology, passions that her Mother had secretly encouraged on the sly. Leda became obsessed with learning as much as she could about the Magical world, and was espescially interested in the idea of being able to see into the future and Divination. Family Husband: ''Forest Montgomery - Leda and Forest's friendship first developed due to a mutual interest in the outdoors, Herbology and Potions. It continued in spite of Leda's obsession with Divination, an interest Forest suffered through with an admirable amount of dignity and lack of complaint. Leda had her first kiss with Forest in the library during their third year, occurring because both were interested and figured it was a good thing to have some experience under their belts. The main problem became that they both enjoyed it a bit too much. Despite a few years of denied feelings and dating other people, they graduated from Hogwarts a firm couple and have been together ever since. A pregnancy scare - on Forest's part, Leda knew she wasn't pregnant because her tealeaves told her so - led to the conclusion that they should get married sooner rather than later, and they were married in a small ceremony in the grounds of Montgomery Manor. ''Daughters: ''Mina & Amaryllis Montgomery Adair ''Father: ''Dougal Adair - A man who is set in his ways is probably the best way of describing him. Dougal Adair was the eldest son of a farmer, and from birth he had order and routine drilled into him. While kind, Dougal is not the sort of person to let anyone walk over him. Duty and respect are of the utmost importance to him, which is why he married Iona upon discovering that their brief affair had led to her becoming pregnant. Leda's relationship with her father, while perfectly loving, has never really been what her Dad wanted. Dougal always wanted a daughter who would dote on him and found Leda's independent nature quite difficult. Of further concern was her obsession with magic from a young age - Dougal did not know that with a Witch for a Mother there was an extremely minimal chance that Leda too would not become a Witch. Leda talking about myths and magic was a constant reminder that his daughter would never truly be his in some way, that she would belong to a world that he could have no true part of. ''Mother: ''Iona Adair (nee McGregor) - The softness to her husband's harshness. Iona has a firm belief in fate, while somehow maintaining an even firmer grip on reality. A true romantic, Iona knew that Dougal was worth giving up her place within the Wizarding world - she had faith that their relationship would work, even though she knew that Dougal was only really marrying her due to a sense of duty. That faith proved to be correct and she has always felt secure and happy in their relationship, which grew to be very loving. Iona has been the biggest influence on Leda's life, passing on her love of magic, mythology and fairytales to her daughter. She's a bit worried that Leda's maybe taken the whole thing a bit too much to heart, and wonders whether she should have been a bit more selective in the tales she told her daughter. ''Brother: ''Cameron Adair - As much his father's son as Leda's her mother's daughter. Dougal kept a firm grip on Cameron - starting with his name after he foolishly said that Iona could choose Leda's - as he'd somehow convinced himself that it was Iona's hold on Leda that led to her being a Witch. As Cameron is six years younger than Leda, the two of them have never really had much in common - Cameron being only five when Leda went off to Hogwarts. Leda's fond of her brother but never really gives the relationship that much thought, figuring that if they become closer as they grow up then that would be nice, but if they don't... well, she's survived up until now. Cameron joined Hogwarts when Leda was in her Seventh year and was sorted into Ravenclaw. Montgomery Father-in-law: Gavin Montgomery Mother-in-law:Emma Montgomery Brother-in-law: Toby Montgomery Sisters-in-law: Hope Montgomery & Aurora Montgomery Personality Leda is an intriguing cross-breed between being airy while still maintaining a huge degree of determination. Her persuits may seem strange, but once they're on her radar she goes after them with somewhat blinkered vision. Leda's studious mainly because she does not ever want to be boxed in or discounted for anything because her grades were not good enough. Like most teenagers, she does not yet know what she wants to do with her life and sees keeping her options open as being a vastly sensible idea. Kindness is of vast importance to Leda, as is a sense of right and wrong - she's not afraid to stand up for what she believes in but would probably do it in such a soft manner that you'd hardly be aware that she was assertive. Hogwarts Years Leda entered Hogwarts with a quiet confidence that things would work out, as this was where she was meant to be. If asked how she felt about being sorted into Hufflepuff Leda would argue that she was ambivalent towards the whole thing and tell you that each House has its own merits and problems... but she was secretly pleased to be sorted into the same House her mother had been in. Leda settled in quickly (in her own way). From the start, she didn't have much of a relationship with her dormmates - they ignored her and she remained ignorant. Leda's favourite subjects were Divination (obviously), Potions and Herbology. She was less enthralled by Transfiguration and finds it a shame that History of Magic is taught in such a boring way, as while she likes History itself she could do without the classes. Leda is convinced that given sufficient time she will teach herself to become a Seer - she hasn't really thought about why this would have much of a practical application, despite her interest in time and history, but is so obsessed this doesn't really occur to her. OWLS and NEWTs drove Leda's stress levels up, but her normally calm personality meant that they were nowhere near as high as many of her fellow students. Months spent in the library before both exams ensured not only grades that she was - and anyone with sense would be - proud of, but also a sense that she could do more and thus there was little reason to be nervous. Adult Life Upon graduating from Hogwarts, Leda spent two months at home trying to work out what she wanted to do. While the Department of Mysteries held a certain allure, she was quite certain that she was not the sort of person who would do well working in the Ministry. Unsure what else to do, but aware that she could not stay at home forever, she applied for a job at Madame Morgana's Magical Eye so that she could work with Caitlin Sylvester. With a job secured, the next stage was finding somewhere to live. Both her own and Caitlin's salary did not combine to make much and the search was a long and frustrating one. Eventually they found a house which at best could be described as a 'fixer-upper' and at worst as a 'hell hole.' It was affectionately known as The Crap Shack. Each day brought with it new problems and Leda is mildly surprised that nobody has died yet. Adult life also led to a growth in Leda's seeing skills, her predictions growing in frequency. How accurate the predictions are is something that Leda is often unaware of due to customers at Madame Morgana's Magical Eye being passing trade, however she does have an increasing number of returning customers who are impressed her readings. More serious predictions have been coming through strange dreams that Leda finds impossible to remember or interpret, meaning that many are still unaware she is a Seer. Leda has total faith but she has since she was eleven, so it's nothing new to everyone around her. Her skills were sufficiently noteable for Hazelle Adamberry to hear of them though, and Leda was subsequently offered a freelance job at The Quibbler , writing horoscopes. Her faith in her Seeing ability was shaken and world turned upside down when her parents were murdered by Persephone Van Alstyne during the Death Eater attack on Kings Cross. Absolutely crushed, Leda not only had to deal with the fact she had lost both her parents, but that she was now guardian to her younger brother; a fact she mostly dealt with by allowing him to live his own life, trusting in him and believing that mistakes were necessary. Having just about got used to The Crap Shack's water system and safe spots, Leda and Forest became engaged and she moved into Montgomery Manor. This brought a whole new array of problems, including eloping siblings and werewolf parents, but the cooker works like a dream so who is she to complain? Relationships ''(edited to include only currently active players) Closest Friendships Caitlin Sylvester - Quite easily classified as her best female friend, Leda is not really sure she was ever given much of a choice in the matter. Leda spends her time trying to stop Caitlin from being arrested for assaulting someone, while Caitlin's main aim is to make Leda do slightly more 'normal' things and help her come out of her shell. Aside from the usual subjects that Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff shared, both girls took Divination and Arithmancy as their electives. Both girls did were good at both, but Caitlin's skill with Arithmancy is the reason Leda got an 'O' in her OWLS rather than the 'E' she would have probably achieved without her friend's help. Rufus-James Holden - Leda is pretty certain that Forest's best friend and cousin predominantly put up with her at the start, and is quite sure that they would not have been friends had it not been for Forest. However, Leda enjoys Rufus-James' company, finding him and his pursuits endlessly fascinating. The aspects of his personality that are so completely foreign to her - and that peeve Caitlin so much - merely amuse her. She's also one of the few people who never calls him RJ. Edmund Wallace - Leda's not really certain when her and Ed became friends, but probably through a mixture of being in the same House, close in age, and both members of the Defense Against the Dark Arts club. Leda prizes Ed's organisation, hard-work and attitude to life. The fact he spent most of his time throughout school feeling crazy about Malorie-Jane also helped, as Leda thinks this shows excellent taste. Acquaintances Members of the Defense Against the Dark Arts club: Josselyn Maguire, Kate Thornton, Aislin McDanford, Makendra Cross, Deidre Pendragon, Ashton Gray. Members of the Hufflepuff House: Alfred Salmon, Wilhelmina White. Professors: Professor Arkwright, Professor Rousseau, Professor Moore, Professor Davis, Professor Marshall, Professor Byron, Professor Binns, and Professor Tibbles Relationships Previous: ''Paxton Blake - Leda met Paxton first in Quality Quidditch Supplies the summer before her fourth year, and thought him to be charming, mature and completely uninterested in her. He did however promise to teach her to fly and piqued her interest in these flying lessons, being an excellent teacher, funny and exceedingly clever. He asked her out on a date at the end of the lesson and they remained a couple throughout Leda's fourth and fifth year. Paxton graduated at the end of Leda's fifth year however, and their relationship came to an end partially due to the fact he was now working and busy, and partially because Leda realised she had feelings for Forest - a fact she felt un-endingly guilty about. Quotes "Tealeaves would be just tealeaves if you haven't studied Divination. Much like you'd just think Devil's Snare was ''just a plant if you hadn't studied Herbology... until it had you in a death grip, of course." - [http://www.oneminuteago.com/index.php?showtopic=7242&pid=53948&st=0&#entry53948 Research (PG-13)] GP Involvement *Leda was present at the White Tomb Rededication and witnessed the death of Adam Turner . She was then interviewed by Bobby Holden and Liam Ives as a part of the MLE's investigation into the incident. See Also *Seer *Defense Against the Dark Arts Club *Gold Pocket Watch Members *Sands of Time Members Category:OMApedia A to Z Category:OMAdians Category:Hogwarts Category:Witch Category:Iron Category:Hufflepuff Category:Halfblood Category:Hogsmeade Category:Marriages Category:Diagon Alley Category:Montgomery